BY JON R. LAFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER
PHARR — It started with a piece of paper.
Sour from a 53-32 bi-district loss to Brownsville Veterans during last year’s girls basketball playoffs, Isabell Palacios of the PSJA North Lady Raiders made a deal with coach Randy Bocanegra.
“I was like, ‘Coach, no one is going to beat us next year,” Palacios, who goes by the nickname Belle, said. “We’re going to win (district).”
Bocanegra, unconvinced by the enthusiasm, preached of the hard work and off-season training required to achieve such a feat. Looking to up the stakes, Palacios persuaded her coach to dye his goatee pink should the team pull through on its promise.
“I wrote a contract,” Palacios said. “I put the little ‘X’ and the little line.”
Bocanegra scribbled his signature, but Palacios refused to let him forget the matter and taped the paper to his desk in his classroom.
Palacios and the rest of the Lady Raiders followed through on their part, winning a share of the District 31-6A title, the first in the team’s history. Bocanegra, a man of his word, received his makeover after a practice session last week at PSJA High.
“My wife hates it,” he said.
It is fitting that Palacios initially proposed the trade-off, as it is her recent stretch of play which is in part responsible for the team’s success. During the past six games, the junior small forward has averaged 19.8 points — 7 points higher than her season average — and has made 48 percent of her shot attempts, including 52 percent from behind the arc. She’s also collecting 2.7 blocks and 3.3 steals.
“I didn’t really think I’d be doing as well as I am right now,” Palacios said of her individual expectations this season. “Because of my size, a lot of teams come after me.”
During the same span of games, Palacios is also grabbing 12 rebounds despite measuring a paltry 5-foot-4.
“I call her our muscle,” Boganegra said.
The catalyst for her sudden offensive tear came on Jan. 20 during a game against the Weslaco High Lady Panthers at PSJA High. With the outright district crown at stake, the Lady Raiders faced a 29-18 halftime deficit before Palacios scored 14 of her 22 points in the third quarter, single-handedly keeping her team in contention. Though Weslaco would get the 61-44 win, Palacios took away a lesson of her own.
“That was a confidence booster,” she said. “I was like, ‘Ya know, If I could play this good with my team, and we’re all playing together, I need to keep playing like this.’”
In the ensuing games, Palacios has routinely led the team in scoring, including a season-high 25 points against Edinburg Economedes.
“She’s playing a lot more aggressive,” senior shooting guard Cynthia Martinez said. “She has a lot more moves this year. She does some up-and-unders now, and she has a little spin move that she didn’t use to do last year.”
The Lady Raiders travel to Alice today to play Laredo United in an area round game. Tip off is 7 p.m. PSJA North won the previous matchup 53-44 on Nov. 20 during the second round of the Border Bash Tournament at McAllen High. Palacios scored 9 points in that game.
“I remember playing them and I remember being really tired,” Palacios said. “Watching them on film, they’re big and I know they play man a lot, which is a lot better because I like it when teams play man. It gives me a better chance one-on-one to get to the basket more.”
Bocanegra is more simple in his description of Palacios’ game of late.
“She just gets it and goes.”